China to liberalize property and tax laws
Beijing: The Chinese Parliament is taking measures that will align the country's law with a more open, capitalist-style model. The measures include protecting private property and equalizing taxes for foreign and domestic companies.

The proposed property law is the most controversial measure to come before Parliament in recent years.

The National People's Congress is deliberating a seventh draft that "strikes a balance between private property and state ownership, said Xinhua, the state-run press agency. The Communist Party amended the Constitution in 2004 to enshrine private property rights for the first time since the 1949 Communist revolution in China. The debate over legal changes intended to enforce such protections highlights enduring concern about the impact of China's rapid but uneven growth, which has set off protests over poverty, taxes and seizures of farmland for development.

President Hu Jintao's government says it is committed to more reform efforts while trying to ease social tensions.
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Rosneft adds 862 million barrels of new oil reserves in 2006
Moscow: Russian state oil company Rosneft said it found 862 million barrels of new oil reserves in 2006, or 46 per cent more than its forecast production.

Rosneft already has proven reserves of 18.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Its reserves include 14.9 billion barrels of liquids, making Rosneft the world's 11th-largest company on the list of oil reserves holders, on a par with Mexico's Pemex.

The firm enjoys strong state support and has won a number of licenses for lucrative deposits in the past years.

The company said new reserves in 2006 were confirmed at its Vankor field in East Siberia and deposits developed by the former YUKOS unit, Yuganskneftegaz. Rosneft expects its oil output to reach 80.6 million tonnes (1.6 million barrels per day) this year, or 8.2 percent more than in 2005. The company plans to raise production by a further 11.7 percent to 90 million tonnes (1.8 million bpd) next year.
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Japan says economy recovering
Tokyo: The Japanese government has maintained its assessment of the economy in a monthly report on Monday. Last month the government downgraded the economy for the first time in almost two years. In its December report the country's cabinet office said the economy is recovering, although there is some weakness in consumption.

The December report described personal consumption as "generally flat" -- the same description used last month -- citing sluggishness in the pace of rises in employees' income.

Consumer prices are flat, while growth of general goods prices has slowed with falls in oil product prices, the report said and stopped short of declaring an end to deflation.
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